Although it was overshadowed by the recent national Tea Party convention in Nashville, another conservative group recently held a rally that featured several Greater Cincinnati notables in attendance.

Americans for Prosperity’s Ohio chapter held an “Already Taxed to the Max” rally Jan. 30 at Capitol Square in Columbus. Among those attending the event were former Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich; his wife, Rebecca; former Congressman Rob Portman from Terrace Park, who’s running for the U.S. Senate; and members of the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes.

CityBeatdoesn’t like to revel in anyone’s misery or misfortune. Sometimes, though, there’s a confluence between a person’s political philosophy and subsequent events that begs for attention and analysis. One such instance is the foreclosure and impending sale of the house owned by an anti-tax leader.

In light of the current recession and the high unemployment rate — particularly among younger adults who make up a large portion of CityBeat’s demographics — we’re publicizing an employment opportunity that also benefits the public interest.

People who died during the past year and didn’t have a home will be remembered today during a ceremony at Washington Park in Over-the-Rhine.

Homeless Memorial Day is an annual event usually held on the day of the year with the longest amount of nighttime hours. A national day of mourning, the local ceremony is sponsored by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.

2010 already is beginning to look a lot like 2009 at The Cincinnati Enquirer.

In a memo issued Dec. 1, an executive with The Gannett Co., The Enquirer’s Virginia-based owner, wrote that newspaper employees must take another five-day, unpaid furlough within the first quarter of the year. Bob Dickey, Gannett’s U.S. community publishing president, blamed the continuing weak economy.

Now that any gains from an influx of Kentucky Post readers are no longer helping boost its numbers, The Cincinnati Enquirer had a 13.2 percent drop in its weekday circulation during the past year.

The latest report from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) states that the Mon.-Sat. average paid circulation for The Enquirer dropped to 168,912 readers as of Sept. 30, a loss of 25,622 readers since the same period last year.

UPDATE: Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Harris, a pledge opponent, said Berding's description of the pledge is disingenuous. "Did Berding's anti-layoff pledge in any way make furloughs a condition? No," Harris said. "The effect of the pledge would have been to prevent the FOP from making any concessions because they wouldn't need to. The manager's only leverage is the threat of layoffs."

ORIGINAL ITEM: Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding believes a council majority is being self-defeating by refusing to sign a Berding-created pledge not to lay off police officers or firefighters in 2010 or 2011.